---
title: "Postmortem plant question here: had this little pincushion cactus for…"
description: "Postmortem plant question here: had this little pincushion cactus for several years before recently it shriveled up into a tiny ball of spikes. After about a…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/vOLjreBcQ-OpqrHIhVSc4w/KrwtLeIpeMKnx7bjlgYB4N"
community: "The Cactus & Succulent Circle"
author: "Dimes"
published: "2025-05-04T13:53:52.878159Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Lp7DR_JYT_gyK737UPEVDFRuhTVA449nKMc7gpcAuIw/HnjBaPK9QWuKnlpXT4r2-w.webp?size=large"
---

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# Postmortem plant question here: had this little pincushion cactus for…

_Posted by Dimes on 2025-05-04_

Postmortem plant question here: had this little pincushion cactus for several years before recently it shriveled up into a tiny ball of spikes. After about a month I finally accepted that it had died, and decided to clear out the pot. When I went to uproot it, the spike ball popped off and I got a good look at the inside. It look like it had been hollowed out and filled with sand? The substance was a little clumpy, and kind of reminded me of an anthill— I wish I got a photo. Not sure if that’s normal, or if I accidentally subjected my cactus son to some unknown horrors. Anyone know what that was?

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Lp7DR_JYT_gyK737UPEVDFRuhTVA449nKMc7gpcAuIw/HnjBaPK9QWuKnlpXT4r2-w.webp?size=large)

## 2 comments

### PrettyLittleThings commented on 2025-05-04

It happened to me too a year ago. He started looking pale but was still standing so I let him be thinking was just under watered. I did notice that he was looking papery (lol) and when I uprooted, same thing, just the outer shell and empty inside. My logic was since they consist of water, it dried off.

### Lover of Cacti commented on 2025-05-06

Creepy

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